The Los Angeles Lakers have started the 2025-26 season without the King, LeBron James, who’s reportedly been suffering from sciatica. It’s been five games without James now, with many wondering how long it will be before he makes his season debut. Charles Barkley, however, questioned whether the injury report surrounding James is accurate to begin with.
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Before the season kicked off, it was revealed that James had been diagnosed with sciatica on his right side, which basically means he has some level of nerve damage in his lower back area. The Lakers didn’t give a direct timeline on his return date, only stating that he would be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks, which, from today, should be a fortnight.
James isn’t the only one sidelined for the Lakers. Luka Doncic has also been ruled out with a sprained finger, leaving the LA squad shorthanded. The situation became a hot topic on ESPN, where Barkley stirred the pot by saying he doesn’t believe LeBron actually has sciatica.
“First of all, LeBron don’t have a sciatica,” Barkley declared. “They [should] just put old. O-L-D, with an extra ‘d’ too.”
Barkley isn’t wrong about James being old. He’s going to turn 41 this December, which means it’s natural that he’ll pick up more injuries. So, Barkley was probably jesting, taking a dig at James’ age.
That said, there is some truth behind the humor. Sciatica is not something young people usually suffer from, and James, 40, fits the category of athletes likely to face this issue. So, Barkley, regardless of what he says, may actually believe that the Lakers’ superstar has sciatica. It may just have been another Inside the NBA joke.
At the same time, there’s also the possibility that James’ absence is not related to sciatica, but something else.
Kevin Garnett’s theory on what happened to James
To be LeBron and deal with critics — it’s a full time job. And it will be interesting to see how he responds to what Garnett recently claimed about his sciatica injury, if he does.
The Boston Celtics legend insisted that James came up with this story to throw a tantrum, since the Lakers didn’t offer him a contract extension. He went ahead with his player option, that will see him get paid $52.6 million throughout the course of this season. But beyond 2025-26, his future remains unknown.
It’s a wild statement. One that could backfire horribly for Garnett should James choose to respond. However, it’s likely he’ll stay silent. James is still choosing to ball at this age at the highest level because he loves the game. He wouldn’t stick around and be part of the roster just to freeze himself out and force the Lakers‘ hand.
Plus, LeBron also knows that he may not be #1 priority for the Lakers anymore, with a prime version of Doncic in the squad.
